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Vlindrel:This Wont be Easy
---- ---- ---- Tate and his dad are finishing the repairs on the Barn door. Jason went out this morning to buy heavier hinges and locks, as well as a heavy steel plank-like bar to barricade the door from the outside once it's locked. Tate: He drills in a few more screws as his dad holds the large metal hinge in place, then steps back. Is that the last one? He's tired from what happened early this morning, and then having to get up early to help his dad install the new doors and locks again. Jason: Yeah. Tate takes a step back as he watches his dad shut the doors and then lower the bar. That should keep those damn things out. Ahiga: He runs up to them from around the barn. You guys finish up already? Tate: Already? We've been out here four hours. He looks at Ahiga with a tired stare. Ahiga: He shrugs a little. I didn't think you'd start so early. He looks to Tate's dad. Jason: We did well enough on our own, thanks anyway Ahiga. He starts packing up his tools. Rudy: He walks around the barn a moment later. How's it looking? Jason: Nothing's getting through that door. He hunches down and grabs his toolbox and other small bags of equipment. Murdoc: A gruff voice calls out. Mr. Lawless? Mr. Lightning? He's walking up to them from a few feet away. There's a young man with him, older than Tate and Ahiga, in his mid-twenties with short light brown hair and blue eyes. He looks like he's wearing a student uniform and has a large pack around his shoulder. I'm Detective John Murdoc, your wife said I'd find you out here. Jason: He looks at Rudy for a moment. Detective? Ahiga: I told Odie about the banker that was here yesterday, asked him if he could get his old boss to come down and look in on why someone wants to run us off the farm. He looks to his dad, not having expected Murdoc to show up already. I hope that's alright. Rudy: It's fine Ahiga. He walks up next to Jason, looking Murdoc up and down. A detective might be just what we need after what happened last night. Murdoc: What happened last night? He pulls out a cigar. Mind? Jason: He shakes his head and motions with his hand to Murdoc . Go ahead. He looks back at the fortified barn doors. A mountain lion broke into my barn here, got one of my cows. He looks back to Murdoc. The thing is, the door gets locked every night, and I know I locked it last night. Which leads me to believe that someone opened it. Murdoc: He looks to the barn. Someone got through all these locks? Jason: We just installed these. The doors were broken off their hinges so we had to repair them. I thought I might as well buy better locks while I was at it. Rudy: He puts his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and looks from the barn to the detective. This same kind of thing happened last year. Nearly ran me and my son out of house and home. Murdoc: And you two think the bank's been doing this? He looks to Tate and Ahiga, then back to their fathers. Rudy: Well we don't know for certain, but a detective would certainly help with figuring it out. He looks to the young man in the student uniform, wondering what he's for, looking back to Murdoc. Murdoc: Well I'll tell you what. He looks up at the barn, then back around at the farm, seeing the cattle grazing a few hundred yards away. Odie gave me a run down this morning on what he's heard from your sons over the last year, so I thought I'd come down here a bit prepared. He motions to the young man next to him. Associate here's named Troy. He specializes in electronics, audio video, that sorta thing. He's prepared to set up a few motion activated cameras around both your lots so if this happens again we can see what caused it. That sound good to you? He looks to Rudy, then Jason. Rudy: How much is this going to cost? He seems warm to the idea, but obviously figures this'll be expensive. Murdoc: We'll install everything for free and I'll charge a flat fee. How's $1000 for the first week sound? Split between the two of you of course... Truth be told, Mr. Lightning, you two aren't the only ones in town looking for dirt on the banks here. Helping you two is an extention of an investigation I've already been hired for, so I'd feel bad charging hard working folk like you too much, when the man whose already hired me is paying top dollar for this same line. He puts his cigar in his mouth and puffs it a few times. Rudy: He shifts his weight slightly. He looks to Ahiga, then Jason. Jason: Could you give us a moment to talk about it? He looks from Rudy to Murdoc. Murdoc: Yeah sure, take all the time you need. He takes a a few steps away and then turns to face the other direction, murmuring something inaudible to Troy. Rudy: Well? He looks to Ahiga. How well do you know this guy? Ahiga: Odie worked for him for two or three years. Said he was a real upstanding old-fashioned guy. Must do good work 'cause Odie made a lot of money. He looks to Tate. Tate: He thinks for a moment. Leena hired him once. Jason: He looks to Tate. What? He sounds surprised. Tate: He takes a long pause. Just before she died... Leena's friend was kidnapped or went missing. He thinks for a moment. ...Leo told me about it a while ago. They went to Murdoc to help find their friend that was kidnapped. I think it was Mandy Lane. Murdoc did everything to get her back, even went out into that... That storm... He pauses for a moment. Well he found her. Rudy: Sounds good enough for me, how 'bout you Jason? He looks to Tate's dad. Jason: Well... I think it'd be good to give it a shot then... Rudy: He nods and turns to walk over to Murdoc. A thousand for the first week, what about after that? Murdoc: He turns from Troy to look at the two of them, walking back over. If it goes on longer than that well... He looks around. 'Spose I'd be inclined to let you rent the cameras running here for a small fee and I'll charge you as the investigation turns up more information that's specifically about you and your farms. Rudy: Can we ask who your other client is? He looks to Ahiga for a moment, then back to Murdoc. Murdoc: 'Fraid not. He doesn't want whoever might be behind this knowing who he is. Maybe we can go inside and talk the details over a bit more while my associate here starts setting things up? Jason: Yeah let's head inside, I'll have my wife make us something to eat. He picks up his toolbox and waves Rudy to come with him. The three men walk across the yard and into the house. Nemo: He watches them close the door behind them. I thought they'd never leave. He's suddenly leaning up against the barn doors. Ahiga: You! He looks at Nemo with surprise and distrust. That was you here last night, wasn't it? Nemo: You're welcome. He pulls out a cigarette and it lights itself with a blue flame as he puts it to his mouth. Well you should actually thank Odie I guess, he's the one that told me to keep an eye on the place. Troy: He sets out his large bag and unrolls a rubber mat. He starts taking out small cameras and other equipment. Are you going to actually help me set up all this shit or are you going to make me do it by myself? Nemo: Smoke rolls from his lips as he speaks. Odie's supposed to be here soon, and I gotta inscribe the detection runes at some point I guess. Ahiga: Wait what? He looks to Troy suddenly. You're going to be putting some kinds of spells on the farm? Troy: That's why we're actually here. He opens the sack and unrolls a large rubber mat from it, then bends down and starts setting cameras and other equipment onto it. If Chris or anyone shows up again these cameras and Nemo's wizardry will tip us off and we'll send someone over to deal with the situation, so you can rest easy. Ahiga: He looks to Tate and then back to Troy. I don't want to rest easy I want to defend my home! Troy: The two of you will just get yourselves killed. Tate: He looks at Ahiga. Maybe they're right Ahiga. Ahiga: Bullshit they are, we've beaten stronger than Chris. He stares at Tate angrily, obviously alluding to Kahanu. Nemo: Yeah I knew you'd say that. You killed a Skinwalker last year around this time, right. He looks up at the two of them. But you didn't exactly do that on your own though, did you? Ahiga: He crosses his arms over his chest and looks away, unable to refute what Nemo's saying. How do you even know about that? Nemo: Very little goes on without me knowing about it in some capacity. I'm creepy like that. Anyway, this isn't kid's stuff, alright? He takes a drag on his cigarette, seeming to remember something for a moment. People die trying to fight the things we fight... Sometimes more than once. Ahiga: My grandfather was killed the last time something like this happened. I'm not letting it happen to my dad too. There has to be something we can do. Some way to get stronger or help out. Like, I dunno, maybe you could train us, or give us a trial or something. He looks at Tate, then back to Nemo. Troy: We don't care what you want kid. He shakes his head as he unpacks some strange looking equipment. You'll just end up getting in the way. Nemo: Troy's right, and I don't have time to train you. You want in? I'm going to give you a task that's going to beat your asses until you give up. Ahiga: There's nothing you can make us do that'll make us quit, not after what we've been through already... He looks at Tate then back to Nemo. Nemo: He looks down, thinking for a moment. Alright. Fine. You see that hellmouth over there? Ahiga: That's called a hellmouth? He has a shocked and somewhat disbelieving tone. Nemo: A near-fully opened one. The only reason nothing's come crawling up out of it is because it's aligned to some other place, and not directly to hell. He looks over to the sinkhole. The problem is that I can't use it for anything. I need someone, or two someones, to go down into the sinkhole and beat whatever it is that's down there keeping it aligned. Then I can realiagn it to this world, and use it to help us fight Natalya. Ahiga: Natalya? You mean Chris's mom? He looks at Tate. Wait, wait, what he hell is going on? Why can Chris turn into the hulk? Why can you summon demon birds that shoot lazers? Why is there a hellmouth on our farms? Other worlds? Nemo: He sighs and puts his cigarette out on the back of his hand. I guess it's story time. ---- About two hours later... ---- Tate, Ahiga, Nemo, and Hunter are sitting in an old barn at the edge of Tate's lot. They stopped using it because it's only fifty yards from the sinkhole. Odie is out on the farm helping Troy set up the cameras and other weird equipment they brought, having arrived with Hunter a little over an hour ago. Nemo has just spent the last two hours trying to explain what Chris and his family are, what they're capable of, and why they want the sinkhole, among other supernatural-related topics. Ahiga: So Chris is from some ancient family of immortal snake monsters? He looks to Odie. Nemo: Well if you ask Odie he'll tell you they're from outer space, but I think my theory is a lot more accurate. They're more like humanoid reptiles and greek monsters. He's messing his his hat, trying to get it straight without messing up his hair. Ahiga: And he and his mom are buying up all of the hellmouths in the area to use for some nefarious scheme? Nemo: Two for two so far. Ahiga: And you're some powerful warlock that's going to try and overthrow her and her family before she can pull this off? Hunter: He's playing a Gameboy Color, pokemon silver in the slot. He doesn't look up from it when he speaks. You sure are good at reciting the things we just spent hours telling you. Ahiga: He looks at Hunter for a moment, then back to Nemo. Do we know what her evil scheme actually is? He raises and eyebrow as he looks from Nemo to Tate. Nemo: Nope. We just know she's doing bad things to pull it off, like sending her son to skinwalker all of your cattle. He leans back. Ahiga: So what do we have to do to get in on this. I want to help fight against this in any way I can. It's obvious that he isn't going to let this drop. Chris could've killed us, or our parents last night. This is personal. Hunter: I told you not to dump the peas. Now he'll never stop bothering you. Tate: It's "spill the beans", Hunter. He shakes his head a little. Hunter: That sounds so stupid though... He snears a little as he keeps playing pokemon. Nemo: He sighs. Alright, alright. He takes off his hat, revealing more of his bright blue hair. He starts bending the brim a little bit. Like I said I need someone to go into that hellmouth and find what's keeping me from aligning it. You two pull that off and you're in. He puts his hat back on and looks to Ahiga. If you two agree to do that, you'll be making yourselves useful and proving yourselves and you might even get stronger while you're down there since these places tend to be like... Well like a kind of proving grounds I guess. Ahiga: He looks at Tate, then back to Nemo. How do we get to the bottom, that thing's over a hundred feet deep. Nemo: You jump in, obviously. He pulls out another cigarette and it lights itself as he puts it to his lips. Ahiga: What, seriously? I'm not jumping into that thing. That's suicide. Nemo: He pulls the cigarette from his mouth. Then you don't get in. Ahiga: He lets out a long groan. If we jump in, we'll end up in another world? Are you sure we don't end up in Hell, or just die? Nemo: Despite their name, Hellmouths generally don't lead directly to Hell. He messes with his hair a little and adjusts his hat again. That's not to say that this'll be at all easy. These other worlds are usually full of monsters and other terrible things. He looks to Ahiga. Ahiga: How long do we have to pull this off? Nemo: He thinks for a moment. It's probably going to take a while for you guys to do this so I can't really put a time limit on it... But the sooner you leave the better. Like I said, it isn't going to be easy. Ahiga: He sighs and looks down. Nothing worth doing ever is... Nemo: That's not true at all. He smiles, an actually happy smile for once, but it quickly fades. It'll be an adventure. Something to skin your teeth on and really immerse yourself in the supernatural that you'll be fighting against. Maybe the two of you will lighten up a little too while you're down there, especially you Tate, I don't remember you being so depressing... Anyway I better get out there and make sure Odie and Troy are setting everything up right. He pushes off the post and heads for the exit. I'll know if you go, and I'll know when you get back. He heads out the front of the old barn. Ahiga: He looks at Tate. You've been quiet. Tate: He's sitting on an old milking bench, and looks up at Ahiga. It's a lot to... Think of I guess. Just yesterday we said that we thought more weird shit would happen... But nothing did... Turns out we were wrong and weird shit's always happening, we're just not in the know I guess... He looks at Loki. His familiar is sleeping in a little self-made nest of old hay, curled up into a ball of fur at his feet. Kinda disappointing that life is more exciting than we thought it was, we're just too lame for it to affect us. Hunter: Yeah you're both pretty weak. There's a sound of him running into a wild pokemon, followed by a Hoothoot's cry. Ahiga: If I channeled the Thunderbird once I might be able do it again. He looks to Tate. Tate: Even if you can do that again... It doesn't mean I'm strong... I've been trying to figure out how to get better at magic this whole year and I'm still not even half as good as my sister was. I haven't improved at all really... All I've done is figure out how to make a few potions. Hunter: That meat potion was good. He murmurs something else as they hear the sound of the Hoothoot dying. Tate: That wasn't a potion, that was just me putting a bunch of raw bacon and pig's blood in a blender... He sighs. Hunter: Still your best work. Tate: ...Thanks... I'm not even on the same level as you are Ahiga. Maybe you should go without me. Ahiga: I'm not going without you Tate. Nemo said this place could make us stronger. I'm not sure if I really trust him, but he seems smart about all this stuff, so he's probably right. Maybe we can just give it a chance. Besides, potions are great for adventures. He smirks a little, trying to sound more up beat to change Tate's mood. Tate: He looks up to Ahiga. How are we going to explain this to our parents? ---- Later that night... ---- Tate: He's sitting at the kitchen table with his parents, eating dinner. Me and Ahiga want to go on a road trip. Jude: Not happening. She's passing around breadrolls. Tate: What? Why?! He looks at his mom. Despite not really wanting to go, his mom telling him that he can't makes him angry. I'm eighteen now I can go if I want. Jude: Oh, so that's the card you're gonna play? You're gonna play that one huh? What do you think Jason? She looks to her husband. Jason: To where? He looks across the table at Tate. Tate: We don't really know yet. Somewhere south. Jason: Not to Tijuana I hope. He raises an eyebrow at Tate. Tate: Probably Arizona... Texas or something I don't know. Odie and his friends went to New Orleans one year, he said it was the best thing that ever happened to him, so me and Ahiga want to try something like that. Hunter's going with us too. Jason: You can go. He looks back down to his food and starts eating. Jude: What? She looks a little stunned, not expecting him to say yes. Half the reason why I told him no was because I thought you wouldn't want him to go. Jason: He's been diligent with the farm, picked up his grades senior year to graduate with honors, took care of that mountain lion last night on his own, and it's almost winter so there's not much I need him to do around the farm. He looks to Tate. I can manage on my own for a bit. Tate: He smiles a little. Thanks dad. ---- Meanwhile... ---- Ahiga: He's sitting in the dining room with his dad, watching him shuffle through bills and other papers. So is it OK if I go? Rudy: Well I can't tell you no. You're a man now, you can do what you want. He's balancing his checkbook after paying Murdoc today. He doesn't look up at Ahiga. Ahiga: ...Yeah but do you want me to go, dad? He's confused by his dad's attitude after asking him. Rudy: He looks up at Ahiga and puts down his pen. I don't want you to go, but I'm not going to make you stay. Ahiga: The way you're acting about it is just... I dunno. He feels a little uncomfortable. I expected you to say no. Rudy: l'll have to get used to you being gone again once you head out to college, and you're going to have to get used to being on your own. He looks back down at his checkbook and taps a few numbers on a calculator. It's part of you growing up. Ahiga: He walks up next to his dad and hugs him. Thinking of what could be waiting at the bottom of the sinkhole.